Harald Wagener, Zürich, Labyrinth Lord. I run a biweekly game on Wednesdays and am always looking for new players to join (we have a core group and a number of irregulars, playing English or German depending on who is joining).﻿

James Young, London, whatever's clever. Will run games for booze.﻿

Jeremy Murphy, Nelson British Columbia. Most D&D versions, WFRP, other stuff. I'm a long-time DM, but I like to play as well.﻿

Adam Thornton, St. Louis. Pretty much anything; if it's a casual drop-in-drop-out game let's do Risus or a rules-light FUDGE (I happen to have one; the character sheet is also the game system). I'll play damn near anything. Also: I'm looking for a few lunatics to do Actual Play Or At Least Character Creation Reports of some Very Bad Games. I own a copy of Spawn of Fashan, but also I'd be interested in trying to play Synnibar or F.A.T.A.L. as long as a) we're all drunk, and b) someone is recording it.﻿

Natalie Bennett, Fairfax and/or Gainesville Virginia. Running ACKS/old school D&D. Tastes as a player are pretty varied-- system's not really the main criteria there.﻿

Joshua Blackketter, Chicago. I'll play mostly whatever, though Dresden Files is about as story game as I'll go.﻿

Ian Borchardt, Adelaide, [hi +Dallas M], run OSR homebrews, Pendragon, Paranoia, Ironclaw (both in Glorantha and in the default world), Swashbucklers of the 7 Skies, but really looking to actually be a player in something (almost anything except White Wolf, but I'm starting to become desperate enough to consider even this).﻿

Ryan Silva Las Vegas. D&D (any), CoC (any). Warhammer RPG (any).﻿

Robert Morris (that's his Google+ name) Bob Morris. Palo Alto, CA. Old school D&D, old Warhammer FRP, hex and counter wargames, and historical and fantasy minis.﻿

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

This grew out of an attempt to figure out some kind of "drinking game" that could make reading through all these game books for ideas fun. It turns out reading a little then pulling something for the table, then switching to a new book and reading some more seems to do the trick. Recommended.

I figure you can roll a location or two, take it or them really seriously and build out from there, basing the adventure or the area around on the details implied in the fragment.

Then add one or two of these and it should get you cooking something up pretty fast.

Or maybe it's just a useless exercise in copyright infringement. I guess we'll see.

1, Shemmy’s House
Shemmy Thofur was an accountant who also helped Linech run his overall organization. (Shemmy was on the Arrowhead when it went down.) His house sits at the northwest corner of the burrow. Hidden under his bed (Search check, DC 19, to find) is a secret compartment containing a locked iron box (DC 25 to open). The box contains the 984 gp, 349 sp, and 89 cp he had embezzled from his employer to date.

2, StatueRoom:
This 20‘ x 20’ room has an empty doorway in the east wall and a normal door in the west wall.
In the center of the room stands a statue of a short dog-headed man, clad in leather armor and apparently swinging a short sword (a kobold). The statue is completely harmless.

3, The Library: When the previous Baron ("the Weasel") came to his decision to betray the Castle to the Egg of Coot, he conducted the bulk of his dealings with them in the Castle's extensive library. His treachery came to it's logical conclusion when the Baron's still loyal associates were invited to the library to be dealt with by the Coot's representative. All that is really known is that they entered but never left and no trace of them was ever found, at least according to the story. As a result, there is a belief that they are still waiting In the library to be released from whatever spell holds them. and that their spirits cry out for release.

4, Bakery: Irgin's cakes and pies. Irgin specializes in cakes and pies of average quality at average prices. Simple loaves of bread, slightly less than average are also featured.

5, The Mosque of Eternity: The party arrives on a marble floor inlaid with many colors: large green areas are sheets of emeralds and jade, while streaks of sapphire lead to vast expanses of lapis lazuli. Yellow patches are gold, and brown stripes of copper are spread everywhere.

6, The Lake of Golden Dreams lies on the western side of the Smoking Crown, where a thick yellowish steam constantly rises from its boiling waters. Where the yellow water is not too deep, it is possible to see that the bottom of the lake is laced with hundreds of tunnels and passageways. According to ru- mor, these tunnels lead to an incredible city that lies at the heart of the Smoking Crown. It is difficult to say whether there is any truth to this story, however; those who have survived the scalding waters long enough to swim into the tunnels have never returned.

7, Kiri Valley￼The forest darkens and thickens beside an ancient trail. A cold, dry stillness hovers in the air, and the trees are knotted and bent. Everything seems to watch you.
An evil wizard died here long ago. Only his essence remains.

8, There is a mirrored surface of some sort here that can function as a gate once Muiral has activated it. This might be a mirror on the wall, a shiny piece of metal, a pool of still water, and the like. Anyone breaking a mirror or destroying a mirrored surface anywhere in the complex is the victim of a cause seri- ous wounds spell.

9, Chamber of Skeletons
This is a 40 × 40 room, the entrance of which has a 15 radius semicircle radiating from the door, an area of continual, magical darkness 15 radius. It cannot be dispelled or negated by any means short of a limited wish.
The room is full of normal skeletons that attack as soon as any PC enters.

10, Plague-Mort’s a festering boil always threatening to burst, a place overripe with treachery. In fact, the town has been pulled bodily into the Abyss on numerous occasions, though a new town of the same name always promptly arises on the same site. Nothing lasts, and death lurks behind every corner.

11, Expanded recesses are much like simple recesses, except the areas keyed to this entry have deeper hollows cut into the stone. The stonework is carved with simple decorations and symbols of the faith.
Like the simple recesses, gauzy webs completely fill each recess, but the disintegrating forms of long dead humanoids are still vaguely discenable through the sticky shrouds.
Because there are more bodies in each of the expanded recesses, each alcove has a 7%chance to contain ld4 gp if an exhaustive search is made. Again, looting such material is considered sacrilege.

12, Fragalax's Museum
Fragalax, the chieftain of Clan Wyrmguard, allows his most trusted advisors (lieutenants, shamans, and witch doctors) to dwell here. The large, single-story base of this four-towered building is set up as a combination museum and sentry post. Many of the spoils of Fragalax's vic­tories as leader of Clan Wyrmguard are on dis­play here. Fragalax is not afraid to display his hoards of wealth, because he solemnly believes that no one else of his tribe would dare steal them (and he is right). Almost all of his subjects are fiercely loyal, and those that are not know the odds of success and the penalties of being caught.

13, The Sarcophagus
The warband of Champion A is travelling deep in the Forest of Shadows when by chance they come upon the ruin of an ancient temple. As the band moves into the glade to investigate, a figure suddenly steps from behind a colonnade and cries, “Halt wastrel, this is none of your concern – be off or feel my wrath!”. It is Champion B. Beyond the broken doors of the temple the rest of his warband are clustered around a huge stone sarcophagus which they have dug from the floor of the temple. A calmly draws his weapon, and his followers close in around him. Meanwhile, B ́s followers take up their own weapons and prepare to join their leader. Battle is about to commence!

14, An assassin tries to join the player-character party. Roll 1D20: on a result of 1-4, he wants to get information about a potential victim; on 5-8, he wants to recruit player-characters as partners in a murder; on 9-12, he wants to gain cover to allow him to get close to his victim; on 13-16, he wants to hide from the searches of the town watch; on 17-20, he wants to incriminate a player-character for a past assassination and thereby divert attention from himself.

15, The creature has also prepared three large rock falls to crash down on the party during the confusion, or if they try to run or climb up to the ogre mage. The rock falls come thun- dering down one at a time and each party member must make a successful Dexterity Check or he is bashed for 2d4 points of dam- age. If these attacks have seriously weakened the group, the ogre mage flies down and at- tacks the party in its natural form. When down to 15 or fewer hit points, it flies away in the direction of its mountain cave.

16, An Abandoned Guard Room
This room is devoid of contents, but it appears to have been once used as a guard room. On the west wall, to the south of the bars, there is a series of three levers. Pulling down on one of them will raise the bars in one of the left set of cells for Room 106 (the next room-z). The lever that is farthest south of the bars will open gate A and so on. To the north of the bars on the same wall there is another set of 4 levers. The lever that is farthest north from the bars is down already and it will be visible that the gate in Room 106D is up. The lever closest to the bars will open the gate into Room 116 from Room 106.

17, The dead were buried with works of art and sculptures, some of which were representations of themselves during life.

18, Transaction Lounge.
This opulent room boasts rich red carpeting, fine display cabinets on all the walls, and a beautiful varnished dining table with several chairs. At the north end of the table is a padded, red-cushioned chair with inlaid gold designs. Three silver candlesticks stand on the table. The locked display cabinets contain diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and exquisitely fine jewelry and jewelled items of great worth....Willard Charles comes and goes from this room by means of the secret door expertly hidden in the cabinets on the north wall of this room. Only Charles and Winklecock know of this door.

19, GOBLIN MANSION
Once a fine marble-and-granite mansion created by the Kiris line, this building now bears cracks, gouges, and obscene decorations after years of goblin occupancy.
A giant symbol of Bane stretches across the front of the building. The treasure vaults of the town can be accessed below the mansion.
Hu-Jat, the hobgoblin leader, lives here with numer­ous guards and pets.

20,
This open area is a small worship alcove. On a raised platform along the western wall is a beautifully carved statue of a woman holding a small girl child in her lap. The woman is smiling down at the child, who plays with a small ball clutched in her hands. The inscription on the base of the statue reads “The secret treasure of one’s heart can be found in love.”
A small opening beneath the inscription is the lock to open the compartment in the base of the statue. One of the gold coin-like octagons found in room EL 6 will open it if inserted into the opening. Once opened, a scroll case will be found, and in it a fragment of a verse written in silver ink on vellum parchment.“I came, and what did my eyes behold?A maiden fair with hair of gold.Her face, aglow by which the sun is shamed. My steed, a dragon, her innocence did tame. Her heart, a gem with many facets,
21, ENTRY PYRAMID
The spiral stairs end atop a square pyramid of stone set into the wall of a vast cavern. Near the center of this chamber looms a gigantic, ruined pyramid. At one time, a towering skeletal statue must have protruded from its flat top, but that sculpture now lies slumped over the side of the cracked structure. At the base of the pyramid gapes a dark hole, and flicking torchlight is visible from its depths.
The floor of the landing is 15 feet above that of the cavern below, but a wide staircase provides an easy connection. A successful DC 10 Knowledge (religion) check identifies the statue as the god Nerull. Recently, clerics of Iuz have performed a special ritual to animate this once-utilitarian sculpture for their own purposes.

22, KAMUU
This is the original capital city of the surface continent of Atlantis. Later it was rebuilt by Homo Mermanus to become the first aquatic city to be called Atlantis.

23, The Dollhouse
What appears to be a dollhouse is really the home of a family of 4 very miniscule humans (Com1; hp 3).

24, Púrdimal — “The Black Toad”
Púrdimal is an old city, older than the Empire and perhaps older than the swamps that now surround it. These great bogs, the Swamps of Ksárul, are the first impression a new arrival gets of the place. The city can only be reached along the combination of causeways, pontoons, and archways that support the Sákbe roads as they wend their way through the black waters of the swamp. The stagnant waters stink and the miasma they create seems to permeate everything. A visitor to Púrdimal will find that the smell remains for weeks after they have left the city, as it sticks to clothing and other personal belongings. The Swamps of Ksárul have a bad reputation and appear desolate and mysterious to outsiders, but they are extremely fertile and the fishing there is excellent. Local clans that cut reeds and fish from flat-bottomed boats with weighted nets demonstrate that the swamps are much less dangerous to those who are familiar with them.

25, The Joust
There are 10 elimination bouts, and each participant in the Joust receives 50 Glory. The overall winner receives 400 Glory, and the Joust prize: a Fa- erie destrier.
For the first 5 bouts, roll 1d20+5 on the “Battle Enemy — Knights” table (Pendragon, Appendix 4) for opponents, adjusting armor and steeds as appro- priate for the Tournament Period.
Participants in the last 5 bouts should be famous knights or Seelie knights (see above).
Feast Highlight: A roasted wyvern, mouth stuffed with a boar, whose mouth in turn is stuffed with a golden pomegranate..

26, Court of the Master (use Map H)
Built in the section of the city reserved for nobility, this walled compound shows signs of recent repair and upkeep. The streets around it are clear of rubble and undergrowth.
This is the abode of the magic-user Horan .... He normally dresses in a silken robe which hides his bracers of defense (AC 4) and his dagger of venom. He also carries a potion of extra-healing and a scroll of protection from magic.

27, The inhabitants of the City of Spires assume that their city was always on the surface. In reality, the great towers dominating the surface were built by an undersea race, locathah, long before humans came to this part of the world, when the land was underwater.

28, Plain of Fire.
This entire sector consists of blazing plains and pits, broken by spires of black obsidian. Any unprotected creature in this sector will suffer monstrous fire damage each round he is here.

29, The abandoned slave pens near the sub·city entrance remain a grim reminder of inhuman cruelty. A hundred·thousand yards of shock·wire divide dozens of square acres into tiny pens of no more than twenty·five square yards. Despite the fact that no being has inhabited the pens for years, an oppressive aura clings to the filthy stalls.

30, Storage
This room is filled with rows of wooden crates. Many contain scientific equipment and supplies: beakers, flasks, chemicals, measuring devices, and so forth. Most contain food for Kriegslieber.

31, THE CRYPT
The door to this room is bolted shut. This long hall is of roughly hewn stone, with a low ceiling. In it are many coffins and large sarcophagi with the re- mains of servants of the Temple of Chaos. The sixth tomb opened will contain a wight: (AC 5, HD 3*, hp 13, #AT I, D drain one level, MV (30’), Save F 2, ML 12). There is no treasure buried with any of the remains, but there is a secret compartment in the wight’s tomb; this contains a sword +2. a scroll of protection from undead, a helm of alignment change, and a silver dagger worth 800 gold pieces because of the gems set into its pommel*.

32, Park
As you step into this area you are surprised to see its scope and activity. The area is a bowshot in width and a long bowshot in length. Beautiful rose trees border the area, and flower beds are sprinkled amid decorative trees and shrubs. The wide fairways between the plant beds and bordering vegetation are covered with perfect grass. Several groundskeepers in red and white livery are busily doing something to the rose trees.

33, SECRET DOOR
The shaft which descends from the Temple to Dungeon Level Two has a means of entrance and egress at this point. The portal is but two feet wide and four feet high, opening by downward pressure (which causes it to sink); it closes automatically one round later. The area beyond has a narrow ledge, which continues to spiral towards the level below.

34, WALKWAY
A 5 ft. high raised walkway leads south from Key #62. This walkway ends in front of two 2 ft. tall statues standing against the southern Wall.
These statues are carved from a greenish porphyry and depict two wolf-headed men. Each holds a whip shaped like an octopus tentacle. If the statues’ whips are both pulled down, a 6 ft. wide secret door located between these statues will swing open, revealing a 10 ft. wide passage heading south.

35,
You push past a non-latching swinging door into a smooth floored chamber which seems empty.
The greater basilisk will be here if the gong at P926 was struck exactly once.

36, Damaged Conduit
A circular pit takes up much of this room. Thirty feet above, dozens of strange shadowy stalactites descend from the ceiling, their lengths transforming after a few feet into iron chains that descend into a tangle of chains suspended over the center of the pit below—the tangle wraps and suspends what appears to be a mutilated humanoid body at its core. Many chains dangle from this sphere into the glowing red depths of the pit below, but several chains float and writhe in the air like strands of seaweed in a churning tidepool, the tips of each fragmented and flaking away in bits of rust.

37, Idol of Ravvan the Beast God
This chamber at the south end of the lair remains mostly empty, except for a squat ceramic idol one foot tall atop a three-foot-tall simple stone pedestal. The idol is very magical and very dangerous.

38, Stairs:
This 20’ x 30‘ room has doorways in the north and west walls, but no doors. A stairway leads down to Dungeon Level 2. Trash and rubble is scattered about the floor, but nothing of value or interest re- mains.

39, Raam
The sorcerer-queen of Raam, Abalach-Re, calls herself the Great Vizier. She lives in a beautiful pal- ace with ivory walls and an alabaster roof built atop a grassy knoll overlooking the city. Unfortunately, the base of this knoll is surrounded by a complicated and ugly series of defensive breastworks, ditches, and walls, for Abalach-Re is the most insecure of all the city rulers.

40, Paths of the Dead￼
A domed ceiling caps this 60 tall circular room. Vines and mosses dangle from great cracks in the ceiling. Fungus covers the walls. In the center of the room stands an empty pedestal, the top of which cannot be seen from the floor.

41, A Little Knowledge Is A Dangerous Thing
This room is well lit, and filled with books in what appear to be a perfect state of preservation. The tomes are bound in expensive leather and written in an unfamiliar language.
The books, which are written in Drow, are all treatises on the worship of Lolth in all its forms. There are over 100 volumes in this room averaging 3-4 pounds apiece; if the group has a means of retrieving them all, they could be a valuable treasure. The sale of these books to the proper buyer could net in excess of 2,000 gold pieces for the lot.

42, The Stair emerges in a dark oubliette: a covered rubbish-pit of old bones (including the bones of several missing humans!), decaying vegetables, rotten wood from crates, casks, and carts that failed in the line of duty, broken glass, and other derelict delights. A strong reek of decay hangs over this tangle, which is infested with rats...
The oubliette is covered with old, stout, but rotting boards, and is pierced by a large (7 x 7) trapdoor. The trapdoor and most of the boards are covered by a litter of empty wine-casks, that always fill a part of the alley considered the backyard of The Blushing Nymph, a festhall on the north side of Rainrun Street.

43, Located in a side street behind the day market, just across from the Prison, this smoke-spewing smithy produces fine nonmagical armor. The ancient Traban (Pr/d d/Fl/LG) specializes in highly ornamental plate mail, suitable for triumphs, parades, and battle. All work is done to order and costs five-to-one thousand times the normal price, depending on the workmanship.

44, A pressure plate in the center of this neutral area triggers a mechanism that slams shut any of the double doors that are opened, automatically locking them, unless a hidden switch is thrown before passing the por­tals. There is a switch beyond both sets of doors, one in each area controlled by a clan.

45, . Cassante’s Closet of Secrets. Pushing past the cloaks, coats, robes, and wraps, a visitor to the room finds that the western 10-foot-square section is clear. A pool of clear water in a basin sparkles in the center of the room and serves Cassante like a crystal baI1. An (ornate mirror much like the one in his private chamber stands against the west wall, but the mirror in the closet possesses a wondrous enchantment. Once per week, with the proper command phase known only by Cassante, the mirror becomes a magical portal that transports anyone who steps through it (up to ten people per use) any- where in the multiverse, as per a teleport without error spell. Both the enchanted basin and mirror lose their dweomer if they are removed from the Bastion proper.

46, The warband of A is carrying a vitally important message to the leader of a coven of Patron A in Middenheim. The message is written upon an old tightly bound skin and A has been ordered not to open it under any circumstances. Champion A enters Middenheim secretly and goes to the pre-arranged meeting place deep in the vaults of an old temple. But when he enters the coven ́s meeting place he sees that he is too late: the vaults have been desecrated and the murdered bodies of the cultists lie scattered around. As he moves into the dark cavern there is a clash of metal and the heavy door swings shut. Champion B emerges from the darkness, his warband scurrying about his feet. “So”, cries the intruder, “ more rats for the trap – I wonder if we shall dispose of you as easily as these fools!”. A realises that he is too late, the coven has been found out and destroyed by Champion B. Cornered in the dark, the two warbands prepare to fight.

47, A spy tries to pass a stolen document to a player-character. Roll 1D20: on a result of 1-10, he thinks the player-character is a fellow agent; on 11-20, enemy agents are in hot pursuit and he needs to unload the document.

48, The main lair of the basilisks is a large set of volcanic vents that twists in and around themselves. Spells like lightning and fireball are very likely to turn on the thrower in these areas. All of the vents are 10 feet wide and tall. There are six platforms in this area where the basilisks have obviously been living and eating. Each one of these has 1d20 amber nuggets (base value of 150 g.p. each). The rest of the basilisks that did not appear up above are in this area and ready for battle. The largest one comes at the party from behind as it is hiding in a vent above the entrance the party arrives through.

49, The truncated-circle amphitheater...contains a series of steps that lead down to a stage. Doors t o the north and south open to stairs on the third step. On the stage stands a wooden partition in front of a door that leads to a 20' x 20' backstage room. The backstage room itself holds a series of chests, a table with benches and a lamp, two changing rooms with benches and curtains over their entrances and flat-painted scenery leaning against the east wall.

50, The Singing Caryatids

Three Caryatids (columns that are carved as sculptures, in this case as three beautiful nude women) support the lintel over this window. The caryatids are 8' tall and carved from white marble. From the floor to the ledge upon which they stand, the distance is 3'. From the outside lawn, the distance is 13'. If these sculptures are touched in any way, they will begin to sing beautifully, but loudly. This action will definitely draw the attention of any being in the southern wing of the palace. The singing also has the function that it acts as a Hold Person spell on any crea- ture hearing it for the first time. However, a being listening to it may save as two levels higher. The singing will last 1 full turn and the Hold spell will last the entire duration. There is no way to stop the singing until it is finished, save destroying the statuary.

51, Kennels

These chambers held the exotic pets and experimental animals of the wizard. Most of these creatures were used in magical research although some met less pleasant fates. The cages are still magically active, and the "bars" look like nothing so much as a captured streak of lightning. Intruders can pass into the cages but nothing living is allowed to pass out of them. Careless characters may find themselves trapped, unable to escape without the assistance of an awakened Garsen.

52, HOUSES of REVEL

Though rarely used during the goblins' day-to-day routine, the desecrated temples that make up the Houses of Revel fill up during festivals. The goblins go there to dance, chant, and offer sacrifices to Bane or his goblin exarch, Maglubiyet.

53, In this small and once luxuriously decorated semi- circular room is a tiny 3’x3’ alcove in which stands a statue of a young girl with arm outstretched. The area seems peaceful.

￼If the secret door is opened it will trigger a mechanism which will pour down 200 cn worth of golden glitter upon the first person to step through. This glitter will stick to all exposed skin, hair, leather and cloth. It cannot be removed except by oil or animal fat. If players attempt to wash it off with wine or water all they will succeed in doing is rearranging it a little. The only way to avoid, this trap is to place a weight of 600 cn on the pressure plate just inside the secret door. This will set off the trap, and the glitter will stick to the floor, instead. The glitter will glow in the dark, thus adding + 3 to the chance of being surprised by any opponent who is in the line of sight.

54, THE POOL OF BLACK RUIN

The stone risers of this wide staircase are as steep as they are smooth. Not a trace of dust or debris mars the mirror finish of their surfaces. The stairs descend into a sizable chamber from which a flickering orange light beckons. A pungent, acrid stink hangs in the air.

Despite their appearance, these 10-foot-wide stairs are no more difficult to descend than a normal staircase. Below lies the black pool chamber.

55, Floor 72 acts as an inn; guest suites fill this usually unoccupied floor. Two water-filled suites are maintained for aquatic visitors such as Atlanteans. One is filled with fresh water, the other with salt water. These suites are actually entered from corresponding swim- ming pools on the 72nd floor. The pools can also double as aquatic conference rooms. A water-tight elevator connects these suites with the river access tunnel on Sublevel 5.

56, Isle of the Bore

The only element of interest on this lack luster isle is a single stone chair situated near the northern coastline. Going along with the theme of a general lack of excitement here is a young man who continual sits upon the stone edifice telling long and very boring tales. So dreadfully dull are these tales anyone listening for more than five minutes worth is lulled to sleep (as the sleep spell) for 2d6 hours unless a successful Will save (DC 15) is made.

57, Just outside the north-eastern walls of Jakálla is its city of the dead. This is about one sixth of the size of the living city of Jakálla but almost as splendid with its pyramids and mausoleums of forgotten kings and ancient Emperors. Appropriately enough, in the middle of this great cemetery is the Temple of Sárku and worshippers must leave the living city to attend it.

58, Ivy Tower

Every May 1st, a bad thing happens on the lands of the Ivy Tower. No one knows pre- cisely what it is, for just before it happens, some- thing enchants everyone to fall sleep. The next day, half of the calves are gone, and half of the stored grain too.

The Lord of Ivy Tower knows this is some curse or effect from Faerie, and is unable to confront it. However, he has offered a very generous reward of “anything that will not stain his honor or his fam- ily” to whoever can drive off the curse.

59, The Bristling Beast

This sectioned-off area is where most of the cooking is done for the clan. Several firepits, a large pot, hanging carcasses, and dried fruits are in this area. The meats are fly-covered, possibly rotting and might have once been any creature. A giant hedgehog (AC 5, MV 6”, HD 6, hp 37, #AT 1, D 2-8, all within 6’ maybe hit by 1-4 sharp bristles that do 1-4 points of damage) is tearing at the dried fruit. lt will attack any who try to drive it away. A pile of rubble near the wall shows how it entered the camp.

60, Qudra is one of the more honest cities in the Land of Fate. There are no local princelings planning to overthrow the government, no evil uncles with their eyes on the throne, and no holy slayer fellowships. The walled city is run with a clean, military efficiency which makes law-breakers think twice before committing any major crimes. A ruling elite of armed slave-soldiers tends to discourage such actions.

61, The Swamp. This alien swamp is inhabited by swarms of buzzing insects and reptilian beings. (The reptiles have a maximum rank of Good for Fighting, Agility, Strength, and Endurance, and a maxi- mum Health of 40.) The major danger is from quicksand, which pulls downward with Incredible Strength.

62, A long, winding case of stone stairs leads into the Inky depths of the Pit. A sweet, musky odor clings to the gray walls of the stair­ case. Nothing stirs below.

63, The Shallow Pool

This portion of the cavern is very wet, and all of the walls and the floor have a sheen from the dampness, There is a large pool of shallow water (as shown), and a few white, blind fish are swimming there- in. There is a jewel-encrusted goblet worth 1,300 gold pieces in the water. There are 3 gray ooze monsters in this place (only 2 if 1 has already been encountered in a 32. area). Each causes 1-8 hit points of damage on the first round, unless attacking from above, because half of their damage will be taken up in destroying the foot and leg protection of the victim. Thereafter, attacks cause 2-16 points of damage, as do attacks from above. The pair always in the place are the one at the south edge of the pool and the one on the ceiling in the southwestern portion of the area. There is only a 1 in 20 chance of noticing either unless a pole device is used to prod the area before the pool or unless two or more torches are held aloft so as to fully light the ceiling area. The third gray ooze will be on the ceiling to the left of the entrance, if present.

64, White Marble Palace

This imposing palace is three stories high and has several large towers and turrets that are taller still. The grounds around the place are beautifully kept, and the walkway to the pillared entrance is made of alternating white and red marble slabs. There are other persons entering the palace, whom you glimpse just as you come in sight of the edifice. Your escort directs you to the main entrance, telling you that a Special Audience is being held to determine some great matter of state.

65, Pillared Hall

One hundred pounds of pressure on the floor at a point five feet in from the entry triggers a delayed-action mechanism. The pressure point limit is shown by X marks on the map. One round after this is triggered, a heavy barred grate drops and seals the doorway.

Two harpies roost atop the two central eastern pillars, having special niches cut into the eastern faces 34 feet above the floor. When the grate crashes down, the harpies start singing.

66, SECRET ROOM

A small podium is located at the center of this room, and wooden benches are placed along the north, northeast and south walls. Many wooden pegs are driven into the walls above these benches.

This is a secret congregation room for all those who follow Tomorast’s fake religion. The pegs are obviously meant to hang articles of clothing upon. On the podium is a scroll fashioned from what appears to be reptile skin of some species unknown to the characters. A chant of some sort (written in the evil align- ment tongue) appears on its surface. If interpreted, most of it merely offers a welcome to those new “initiates” who follow the Cause of the Elders. The ending seems to be the most interesting:

“May those who don Masks of Chaos THE ELDERS by names transcended darken paths by which to guide us lighting those that blaspheme others that is known to us save one- KERZIT! KERZIT!! KERZIT!!!”

67, This room looks like a meeting hall. A round table surrounded by five high-backed chairs tills the area. A crystal ball is supported by a base of five individual hands, each extending one finger to support he ball. On the far side of the room a few steps lead down to a small fountain.

The hands are actually crawling claws (hp 4 each). They will attempt to defend the crystal ball from any but the wizards. This will result in three attacking while the other two try to get away with the ball.

68, Upper Galley: This large open space has a polished hardwood floor and serves as a place for guests to mingle—sometimes, the chamber is used as a ballroom, but not this evening.

69, MINOR VAULT (EL 11)

The massive door to this chamber near the end of the Path of Burning Souls is made of iron a foot thick, with a hardness of 10, 360 hit points, and a break DC of 35. It is triple locked (Open Lock, DC 35) and arcane locked as well. To one side of the door, the wall holds a secret keyhole (Search, DC 25; Open Lock, DC 30). If anyone attempts to open the door without first activating that hidden lock bypass, a trap door opens in front of the door, dumping anyone within ten feet down a fifty-foot pit with poisoned spikes.

(Then WTF keeps you out of the Major Vault?)

70, Closet:

This small 10’ x 30’ room has doorways in the south and east walls, but no doors. A dusty old round hatbox is lying on the floor in the northwest corner.

The hatbox is tied with a string. If the string is cut, the hatbox can be opened safely. But if the large bow knot on top of the box is untied, the character untying it must make a Saving Throw vs. Poison or take 1-6 points of damage, from poison placed on the string.

A woman’s red hat, now faded and moldy, is in the box. T h e hat itself is worthless, but if removed from the box, a hatpin will be found beneath it. The hatpin is solid platinum, and worth 100 gp.

71, The Shadow King lives inside a walled sub-city located in the center of Nibenay. No free man has ever seen his palace in person, but according to rumor it sits atop an artificial mountain of stone slabs. The palace itself is supposedly a giant bust of Nibenays head. The front of the castle is carved into a stone relief of the Shadow Kings face. The sides and rear of the palace are covered with life-sized representations of dancing women, strung together as if they were locks of his hair.

72, Watch Room

￼The room has remained untouched for centuries. A green film blankets everything; corroded metal fittings lie where a banded table once stood.

The fittings crumble at the touch. The floor is slippery: all creatures fight here at -3 to their to hit chance.

73, Shadowy Dining hall

This 60 × 140 room is lined with long stone tables and attached benches. The center of the north wall contains a shallow alcove that is about 4 above the floor, and 20 wide by 3 high and 3 deep.

The alcove is for the dishes of the students when they are done eating. Servants would remove the dishes from here after mealtimes and take them to the kitchen to be cleaned. The apparent emptiness of the room is misleading, however; this room is the lair of a pack of shadows.

74, This room (#32A) is, as it looks, a series of waiting traps. PCs trying to fly through it are forced violently down (falling damage of 1d6 per 10 of height applies) onto a square, and must suffer the consequences of their arrival.

In overall terms, the black squares are safe (nothing happens if one walks on them) in the first rank (row of squares, proceeding from south to north), the third rank, the fifth rank, and the last (seventh) rank.

The white squares are safe in the sec- ond, fourth, and sixth ranks (with one ex- ception, noted below).

75, Laril actually works the place as a safe haven for the Revolutionary League. Several of the pools have false bottoms. Beneath these are entrances to secret catacombs that honeycomb the streets

under the city. There, Laril has created apartments for her brethren, and stockpiled supplies.

76, When the dwarves farmed this area, some of the grain crop was kept in a large silo con­structed within the great cavern. The silo stands over 40 feet tall, and it has a ladder bolted to its side that leads to the top, where the grain was dumped from a conveyor belt and stored. Clan Torn Claws does not use the silo now, but its members have rigged the roof to function like a counterweighted trap. Once a PC reaches the center of the roof, the whole thing sags down­ward, dumping that character and any others also on the roof down into some very old grain that is occupied by a brown mold.

77, Battlements.These open areas allow in light and air. In the event of an exterior threat, they also serve as bow- and spell-ports for embattled priests and affiliates.Though open, every window, both here and in the narrow hallways providing access around the upper level of the Bastion, is inscribed with the glyph Fah (target suffers 5d4 points of fire damage, save for half). The glyphs trigger when any living, undead, or magically animate creature attempts to enter through the opening. One obedience priests within the Bastion serve is to periodically check these window glyphs to make sure they are intact.

78, The Loot

A fierce battle has raged for three days around a well defended Kislevite fortress. Chaos Warbands from all over the North have come to take part in the carnage, burying their rivalries in the greater aim of comquest. At last the Kislevites are driven into their last sanctuaries, leaving the forces of Chaos triumphant. As Champion A and his warband roam through the broken streets they see the warband of Champion B. They are dragging a huge altar cloth behind them, and wrapped in its ancient folds is a pile of golden relics and cult objects looted from the temples throughout the fortress. Immidiatly Champion B unsheathes his sword and his followers do likewise.

79, Lord Loud, a barker for a notorious tavern, beckons in player-characters to see wild events, which are always delayed for one more round of drinks.

80, If the party comes closer, they will eventually realize that the dragon is a statue.

81, Execution Room

The door from the guard room creaks, but gives, and behind its ancient portal stands the huge metal statue of a fully armed warrior. The figure's arms are raised behind its head, menacingly brandishing a curved sword,with a blade at least five feet in length, in a manner that threatens an imminent strike. Before the statue rests a large block of wood. Deeply stained on its upper surface, the wood contains four shackles,one at each top corner, and a large cut running down its upper length.

82, A Long Past Slaughter

Lying about this cell are 21 long dead corpses of men and women in strange, but rich clothing. Each corpse will have a silver skull pendant with turquoise eyes (value 25 GP). These were all worshippers of Thanatos who sought death rather than capture by the Beast Men. They were all put to death by the man at the table who then fell on his sword. There will also be 30 pieces of random jewelry in the room, on the corpses, valued at a total of 5000 GP. The cell door is locked.

83, The Cave. (appx. 34' x 28')

The chamber is partly natural and partly excavated. The sandy floor is much walked on. From time to time the cave has quan- tities of contraband in it. The passage to the north is blocked by a heavy oak and iron-bound door kept locked2 when not in use. Queeny has one key; Finn- glass has the other. The tunnel, which twists and branches, exits on a limestone bank; the opening is well hidden with brush and overgrowth. Someone hiding inside the tunnel can see without being seen.

84, JAGGED MOUTH (CITY GATE)

The goblins built a rickety palisade at the town's entrance to replace the rotten timbers of the old gate. A few guards always mill about here.

85, This strangely shaped room is divided into two sections, one facing south and the other west. Each section has one empty weapons rack and two windows. A large gong can be seen from two of the windows in an alcove.

86, REDCAP’S ROOST

In the center of this room stands a wooden table with four chairs. To the east is a tall wooden cabinet with its face smashed in and a heap of splintered wood lying on the floor in front of it. To the north, a single arrow slit overlooks a wide hall.

One of the redcaps spends much of his time here, practic- ing weaponplay with the different weapons or tormenting Vexia in area I6 (if she’s there). The weapon collection consists of ten longswords, ten battleaxes, ten daggers, ten light crossbows, and two hundred crossbow bolts—all standard quality (no magic or masterwork).

87, Tok: A barren, desolate world inhabited by lizardmen. They have a warrior culture led by Zorak. Although they were long-time foes of Pearla’s Microworld, they have since signed a peace treaty.

88, Shield and Map:

An iron shield has blocked up a small stream. The shield reveals an intricate design if the rust is cleaned off, and hidden in the design is a map to the tomb of Whilestone Ogrekiller.

89, ...a crag of dark sandstone at the junction of two rivers, hollowed out over long millennia into a warren of corridors and rooms, topped with gardens and towers. If you are from Avanthar, chances are that your family serves the Empire in some fashion; the city is not all that large, and most of its inhabitants do. The highest officials of the Empire reside here, all the way up to the lofty heights of the Court of Purple Robes, the High Chancellor of the Empire and, in the tradition-imposed solitude of the Golden Tower, the Emperor himself.

90, Setting: A very useful trail through the woods that has not been used for untold years.

Problem: A giant lives somewhere along the trail, for he can be heard roaring at times. A huge manlike footprint with six clawed toes is visible in the rocky ground nearby (!). It is as long as a horse.

Characters: A half-buried giant (use standard giant stats), whose head and one arm only are visible.

91, Sacrificial Poles

Erected on the edge of these ruins to the northeast, well away from the main camp, are three large poles. Each pole is 10 feet tall and carved with crude faces of the different creatures that have formed theancestry of the mongrelmen. In each pole, a large metal ring is set at about a 7’ height. Sacrifices are brought here, fastened to the poles and left to die. Monsters have learned that easy prey can be gained here; therefore, the chance for an encounter is 25% each turn.

92, Hudid

Hudid is noted for its libraries of optics, mathematics, and alchemy, but one collection that is not normally mentioned is the Black Library of Hudid, which carries books so foul, dangerous, and heretical that they are kept there as examples of the worst of savagery. It is said that priests of Zann, when confronted with books which they cannot bear to keep nor destroy in good faith, send them to the Black Library of Hudid. Here are histories of holy slayer fellowships, secret rituals of the Brotherhood of the True Flame, horrors of elemental worshippers, and translated obscenities from the Ruined Kingdoms.

93, Plain of Worms. A nightmare land- scape of pinkish "worms" clustered around hot pools of salt water and mud- holes. The landscape writhes, but whether it is alive or only a radical geological formation is a matter of conjecture.

94, STOREROOM

Goods stolen from the stupid goblins are kept here until needed above. There will be a single guard.

95, Onyx Fountain And Pool

A statue of a large, human-like form rises from the pool. It carries a dolphin in each arm, and four seahorses surround the statue. The dolphins and seahorses all spurt jets of water from their mouths, the former upwards about 10’, the latter outwards about half that distance. The pool is lozenge-shaped, about 20’ in width and 30’ long. There are water lilies growing in the pool, and gold-colored fish swimming among their stems.

96, SLEEPING APARTMENT

In the north of this pair of rooms lives Romag, a curate (L4) and priest of the Earth Elemental Temple. He is determined to become the leading cleric of the Temple of Elemental Evil, and is gathering forces to accomplish this. He would particularly enjoy raiding and looting the Water Elemen- tal Temple, and killing its priest.

In the southern room of the pair, through a four-foot-wide concealed archway (cov- ered by a tapestry), lives Hartch, an adept. He is ready to serve his master (Romag) and eager to pass on his commands.

97, DECORATED CHAMBER

Painted upon the north, east, and west walls of this 30 ft. x 30 ft. room are frescoes of servile ladies lying upon many-colored furs near a fountain. The fountain water is depicted as bubbling lava, with a scaled, fire-enveloped hand reaching forth from it.

This is an artist’s symbolic representation of the pool (Key #7) and the danger it represents. The ladies represent the laxness of those dealing with it carelessly. The scaled hand signifies the hetfish, while the bubbling lava denotes the fiery inclination of these creatures.

98, The twelve rust monsters that have taken up residence on this level have been given a great deal of space by the other creatures. Not wishing to have their own metals deteriorated to nothing, even the orcs have been smart enough to leave them alone. In fact, much of the tattered armor and broken weapons generated by combat on this level are offered to the rust monsters as tribute. After all, they’re not mean little crea- tures, but they hunger for metal and metal only.

99, Banquet Hall

This immense chamber is pleasantly heated by six huge fireplaces and lit by constantly glowing crystal chandeliers. The walls are decorated with unsettling landscapes of twisted hellish realms that, upon closer inspection, seem to depict Westcrown as if it were located in Hell itself. Two thick, wooden pillars carved to represent tangles of serpents rise to support the roof above, and a balcony for observing the banquets here from below winds along the east and west walls at a height of 15 feet.

00, You search the room, listening and looking carefully, but you find nothing. Suddenly, as you are about to leave, the lips of the giant mouth move, and in a big booming bass voice it says, “Surprise! You are here for double-or-nothing! Ready or not, here we go. 0-T-T-F-F-S-S. What’s next in line? If you solve this riddle, your treasure will double. If you fail, it will all disappear. What is your answer?”

Friday, January 10, 2014

Here are some true things about Demogorgon:Demogorgon received the lump of mold we call Earth, and having formed it as it now appears, thought he had created a masterpiece. --Voltaire, Plato's Dream
Demogorgon is responsible for everything anybody ever did. Except some NPCs, who serve other demons.If you killed a gnome, that was Demogorgon, if your neighbor peeked at your mail, that was Demogorgon.The name Demogorgon is introduced in a discussion of Thebaid 4.516, which mentions 'the supreme being of the threefold world' (triplicis mundi summum); in a mystical passage that seems to show Jewish influence, as it mentions Moses and Isaiah); the author says of Statius, Dicit deum Demogorgona summum ('He is speaking of the Demogorgon, the supreme god', or perhaps 'He is speaking of a god, the supreme Demogorgon'). Prior to Lactantius, there is no mention of the supposed "Demogorgon" anywhere by any writer, pagan or Christian.
-some Wikipedia editor

If you get to the end of Rappan Athuk and kill Orcus--that was Demogorgon. Of course: he fucking hates that guy, it's in the Monster Manual. Demogorgon's all "Death to false metal".If you defeated Demogorgon, that wasn't Demogorgon. He is manipulating you into defeating impostors.Demogorgon loves Warhammer Earth--humans and dwarves and elves fighting agents of Khorne and Tzeentch and Nurgle and Slaanesh for 40,000 years. Only War? Fucking perfect. Fuck all those bush leaguers.Demogorgon really loves Call of Cthulhu world--go ahead, keep defeating agents of Cthulhu over and over on every world. Do that. Guy's a nuisance across 899 realities. It is whispered that He himself sat by the shoulder of Chaosium, whispering that the Runequest rules could be repurposed to aid in crusades against the Old Ones.If you had a campaign that ever ended prematurely, this was because Demogorgon abolished your reality. Things were getting out of control. You were getting too close to Him.

He is, therefore, much as Roland Barthes described the imperial palace in Japan: the unviewable center. All unfinished adventures point to Him. So who got close?Edgar Rice Burroughs with Skeleton Men of Jupiter, Byron's Don Juan, Poison Elves, Jane Austen with Sanditon and The Watsons, David Foster Wallace with The Pale King, Twin Peaks, Deadwood, Phillip Marlowe was on his trail in The Poodle Springs Story, andPhillip K Dick's protagonist in The Owl In Daylight, and Aeneas in The Aeneid. Likewise: Sunset At Blandings, The Canterbury Tales, The Man With The Golden Gun, Game of Death, Edward Gorey's The Izzard Book,and, perhaps most promisingly, Steve Gerber's final Doctor Fate story.And, for sure, Castle Greyhawk.What do these adventures have in common? Cannily, the Bicephalic And Primordial One cut off these realities long before the common threads could be gathered.Some have argued that the lost original proof (and only that proof) of Fermat's Last Theorem points to Him.Also, dead adventurers point to him, since it is he who kills them, or allows them to die. Examine the differences between what the party did after Orangconan died and what the party would have done if he hadn't. These are his footprints.There are no "meaningless TPKs". There were only "TPKs which, had they not occurred, brought adventurers too close to the truth about Demogorgon".So, GMs, examine well your failures: his trail picks up just over the untaken hill.It is said that there is one D&D campaign currently extant, that will one day lead to the defeat of the true Demogorgon.__

Why he chose the ixixachitl to become his worshipers, and why that race of sentient rays has chosen to follow him, is very hard to determine.

--Monster Mythology (2e)

No it isn't, Carl Sargent, he obviously chose them because psychic vampire manta ray clerics are stupid and because they live in cities beneath the ocean which is:

...thus ensuring adventurers are profoundly unlikely to get anywhere near His Mysteries or His Offices.

Both Demogorgon and Orcus appeared in the D&D Immortals rules set for the Basic Game. In this incarnation, Demogorgon was referred to as "she", and went by such nicknames as The Child, Bane of Souls, The Lizard King (no offense, Jim Morrison), and The Dark Lady (really no offense, Shakespeare). A bizarre take, this version of Demogorgon "often polymorphs into the form of a human child, apparently the essence of youth and innocence. When she chooses to fight, however, she assumes her normal form."-ThatThis is, of course, all true. (The only really confusing part is the Lizard King bit. Unless you credit the bizarre theory that Demogorgon plans to wed Tiamat in a ceremony that will annihilate the universe but: seriously?)

Now, here's a question:Why doesn't Demogorgon just go ahead and win? Why do good things ever happen to good people? Why isn't the universe aflame?Well:Demogorgon’s two heads are named Aameul and Hethradiah. Aameul prefers deception, and Hethradiah favors destruction. Originally, Demogorgon had one head and one mind. A mighty blow from the deity Amoth split him nearly in two before Demogorgon killed Amoth. After he healed, Demogorgon’s head remained split. The two heads often disagree with one another but turn disagreement to their mutual advantage. This shouldn't surprise anyone who has ever seen Demogorgon (that is: anyone) in action. Cross-purposes are their name, and their strategy is self-sabotage.Likewise:Twins born to cultists or kidnapped and indoctrinated at a young age lead Demogorgon’s mightiest cults. Each twin serves one of Demogorgon’s two personalities. Invariably, such a cult falls to infighting as one high priest turns against the other, hindering many a foul plot.And that hindrance is called existence.Also: Dagon, in turn, always whispers his secrets to one head at a time (never both at once), thus playing a major role in the tension between Demogorgon's heads.In the World of Greyhawk campaign setting, Demogorgon sometimes goes by the ancient name "Ahmon-Ibor," or "the Sibilant Beast." ___

The Codexes, Covens and Chapters

In a pathetic humanity

Behaving like disoriented worms

--Demogorgon (the Brazilian one)

Like all true demon lords, Demogorgon has recorded a number of heavy metal albums through various sublunary avatars. As a demon prince's strength is directly tied to the number of metal bands named after them, Demogorgon's number is 17. Or maybe 19. Anyway: together these mouthpieces have written over 150 hymns, which, properly interpreted, hold the keys to His powers.

His Wisdom is held in a dozen sacred texts, and many copies of each are spread out across the world. Whenever a PC dies, another Chapter is written in each book, and a Chapter is added to His legions.Each Coven has a Codex, and a Chapter of Servants for each Chapter of their Codex. Reading a chapter of a Codex not only grants the reader access to the wisdom within, but inflicts a mutation (save allowed) upon the reader that can only be undone by reading the next chapter and receiving its associated mutation. The mutations, when known to the scholars of civilized lands, are listed below in parenthesis after the title of the Chapter.

Humanoid servants of a given Chapter have hit dice equal to that Chapter's number and the associated mutation. So, servants of the 4th Chapter of the First Coven have 4 hit dice and a Crown of Flesh.Each Coven's clerics, wizards and witches can only cast spells written in their Codex. A list of spells in each Codex (with any known details) appears after the list of Chapters.

(Chapter orders are derived from the order in which the songs appear on albums by bands named Demogorgon and mutations are derived from the track length, in minutes and seconds, translated into results on the d1000 chaos mutation chart. Spell orders and details are likely derived from track orders and length numbers. Codex titles are derived from Demogorgon albums not named after tracks. And, yeah, I used every single name of every single song by anybody called Demogorgon because, hey, you don't mess around when the fate of reality is at stake.)The archaic semitic word "Satan" in the tongue of the Quiet World has been translated below as "The Adversary" here, and the word "Christ" has been translated as "Amoth".

And Death Brought Them For His KingdomCodex of the First Coven(This book is a history of the planet, from the first days of creation to the current era)Chapter 1. Ancient Time of Ritual (Invisibility)Chapter 2. Magog - The Final Battle of Angels (Puny)Chapter 3. Trinity Denied (Irrational Fear)Chapter 4. Black (Crown of Flesh)Chapter 5. The Angel's Hope of Isolation (Blood Substitution)Chapter 6. A Life of Dark Desires (Moronic)

Seelenpein Codex of the Second Coven(A description of the creation of the four primordial temples of Demogorgon--still extant--located in the northern kingdom once known as Selenpein. Contains useful information on the temples themselves.)1. And Black Melted The Grove of Gold (Tentacles)2. Lycaon Pictus (Flaming Skull Face)3. Frozen Winterland (??)4. The Slaughterhouse (Flaming Skull Face)

Known Servants of Demogorgon Include:Aelfhild, pirate werecaptain of the Fenris.The three witches Thorn, Frost and Dread.Belphegor, a demon with three headsTo generate a coven of Demogorgon, roll one of each die (a lot easier with a pop-o-matic bubble):d4=Light Rank-and-File1. Humans2. Elves3. Halflings4. As d6 rolld6=Heavy Rank-and-File (Note: Gnolls and beastmen will not work together)1. Beastmen2. Gnolls3. Humans4. Centigors5. Flagellants6. Skaven/Wereratsd8=Leader1. Beastman 2. Centigor3. Gnoll4. Werewolf5. Marilith6. Minotaur7. Kenku (crow type)8. Witchd10=# of Each Kind of Rank-and-Filed12=Coven Number (see above)d20=Creatures 1. Thogs (long) (6)2. Thogs (tall) (4)3. Evil treant4. Troll5. Manticore6. Ettin7. Abomination8. Harpy9. Man of Wounds10. Peryton11. Vomiter12. Thornchild13. Black Unicorn14. Ringwolf15. Gryph16. Hag17. Roll d12 on this table 2 times18. Roll d12 on this table 3 times19. Roll d12 on this table 4 times20. Roll d12 on this table 5 times
…Once you know the Coven number, you can assign Chapter numbers to any rank-and-file creatures. At least one member of the coven will be carrying a copy of its Codex at all times.